Phantom Heart - John Haydon
By Mick Ding
You could easily describe singer-songwriter John Haydon's brand of folk/singer-songwriter rock as 'no frills', on first listen. But that's not exactly true - the songs are simple, and shorn of fancy production (something which in itself is excellent production, done, as it is here, properly) but there are plenty of moments when something a little extra is added to the song to lift it out of the ordinary.
One of those moments is on Blue Van, a lilting melancholy song about distance, both geographical and metaphorical between two lovers. The refrain that holds the song together is the lyric 'I still want to hold you' - a simple line and sentiment, but Haydon injects an extra syllable into the 'hold' drawing the line out alongside a well placed pedal-steel guitar, accentuating the loneliness and melancholy in a croon (used in the best sense of the word) that brings to mind Chris Isaak and other masters of understatement. It's a short, simple, and achingly beautiful song - despite it's criminal ryhmes ('Van' and 'Man' in the first two lines had this reviewer hovering itchily over the next»» button).
Haydon, from Waltham Massachusetts has been playing the local scene for over thirteen years, with phantom heart being his fifth album released. Impressive and soulful, it immediately catches attention and sets out its stall as redemptive music (there's a cover of Daniel Johnson's Good Morning You - to give you an idea of where we're coming from here).
The story behind the album is a common one - a marriage falls apart, and one way to deal with the loneliness, fear and opportunity is through songwriting. I have a bin specifically set up for these type of records, as they're usually full of whingeing, self-important, shite tunes sung by someone convinced that he's Leonard Cohen, when he really sounds more like a tuneless drone hogging a karaoke microphone. Not Haydon, though, who sidesteps the pitfalls of navel-gazing armed with a sweet voice and an ear for a good tune.
He started writing the album, in fact, when he hooked up (in more ways than one) with another local singer-songwriter to form an Everyly Brothers style band - and this, perhaps more than any other reference, offers the key to his music. It's simple, solid, sweet and yet at the same time offers depth, and a blue streak to its pop.
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